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Exactly. When Harry is complaining (if only to himself) about always having to be the one to save the world, it really isn't very different from any kid complaining about always having to be the one to . . . (fill in the blank). It's also this "universality" which makes the backlash against...

Thanks. That's sort of what I thought. I guess that'll save me a trip. I'm afraid that neither my budget nor my shelves will support that kind of habit.

I would have thought, rather, that the single footprint was chosen, not because DeFoe didn't want to give too much away, but because he didn't want to give too much information to Crusoe. A single footprint is uncanny, mysterious, possibly sinister; a string of them means that some guy is down...

Robinson, I hate to admit it, but Baldwin's is only about an hour and a half away from here and I have never been there. Then again, I really am only interested in reading copies of the books I want. Do they have a selection of moderately priced paperbacks? I'd like to go some day, but don't...

I thought that Harry's anger really wasn't much different than the anger that most teenagers feel. I guess it is a sign that Rowling is a good writer that Harry was actually rather annoying at some parts of the book (again, like most teenagers). It is probably as good as, or better than, the...

Just this moment, I'm thinking about my shoulder (which hurts), my supper (which is browning in the oven), and coffee (which is constant).

I think there are a couple of factors at work which keep Pullman's trilogy in the "Children's" section. One is that some of his other books are more obviously geared towards a younger audience (I'm thinking of the Sally Lockhart books). Another is that there is something of a tradition for...

True, Ashlea, for modern books. For earlier books (say pre-1940), there are things called points which book dealers can check to determine whether or not a book is a first edition. Sometimes these points can be as esoteric as a missing comma on page 145, or something. Goodness knows it's...

Exactly right, headpodd. I have the feeling that this trilogy could be read on many different levels. Pullman is playing for some pretty high stakes thematically speaking. If I have one complaint about the trilogy, it is perhaps that Pullman has so much at stake thematically that there really...

I have to admit that it is quite a while since I read the book, but I think what really accounts for the book's status is that it isn't just about a troubled teenager. I think it also says a lot about the human condition in general.

I used to know a guy who's nickname was "Boo", but don't know how it related to his given name. I only ever heard anybody call him "Boo". I am pretty sure, though, that the nickname didn't have anything to do with Harper Lee's book.

I regularly re-read Encyclopedia Brown, The Three Investigators, and other "children's" books. Good books are good books, regardless of who they are aimed at.

True enough, Ashlea. I usually see Pullman shelved in either the "Young Adult" or "Independent Reader" sections. I also think that HDM has been lumped in the children's literature through a process of "guilt by association". That is to say, because the main characters are children, and...

It seems to me that opting out of the "professional career track" can be very rewarding if one is willing to go without all the trappings. I have the luxury of not having a family to support, don't mind driving a 20 year old car, or buying clothes/books/CDs second-hand. I also have always...

"Five favorite" seems to be the key phrase here. If you think of the Rolling Stone list recently compiled (some of which was downright embarrassing) you can see how that comes in to play. Having said that, though, I will add that Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy is a truly...

I'll admit that it has been a very long time since I read Crime and Punishment , so I may not remember everything clearly. But, it seems to me that the novel served several purposes. It does dramatize the plight of the desperately poor (Russian, or otherwise). It also seems to be about what...

Oh yeah, you might also want to try something like Post Office by Charles Bukowski.

You might try Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance or Jack Kerouac's Desolation Angels . Both really seem, to me, to fit the criteria.

Hannibal, Let me heartily recommend T.R. Pearson's Short History of a Small Place . No Oprah melodrama or syrupy romance. It's just one of those books, in my opinion. Funny, touching, etc. but with some real themes for bedrock.

Cara, The answer to your question depends very much on whether or not the "drawings" are actually original illustration art (i.e. the drawings the illustrator made which were then used in the book) or tear sheets (i.e. printed illustrations which were removed from a copy of the book). In the...